Rocky Johnson
| birth_place = Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Davie, Florida | billed = Toronto, Ontario, Canada Washington, D.C. | trainer = Peter Maivia Rocky Bollie Kurt Von Steiger Rocky Bollie Kurt Von Steiger | debut = 1964 | retired = 1991 }} Wayde Douglas Bowles (August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name Rocky Johnson. Quite popular in his own right in the 1970s and 1980s, he was also known for being the father of actor and former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. During his wrestling career he became a 1-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Georgia Champion and also became a 1-time NWA Southern Heavyweight Memphis Champion as well as winning many other championships. Along with his partner Tony Atlas, Johnson was a part of the first black tag team to win the World Tag Team championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Rocky Johnson was born Wayde Douglas Bowles in Amherst, Nova Scotia, where he was raised, the fourth of five sons of Lillian and James Henry Bowles. His ancestors were slaves who escaped from the American South. At the age of 16, Johnson moved to Toronto, Ontario, where he began wrestling and worked as a truck driver. Initially, he trained to be a boxer and eventually sparred with greats such as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, but he was always fascinated by wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance Johnson began his career as a professional wrestler in the mid-1960s. He was a top contender in the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s, receiving title matches against then-World Champions Terry Funk and Harley Race. He was well-suited to tag team wrestling, winning several regional tag team championships in the NWA. World Wrestling Federation In 1983, he was recruited by the World Wrestling Federation and paired with Tony Atlas. They defeated the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika) for the Tag Team Championship on November 15, 1983. They were the first black wrestlers to hold the title. Together, Johnson and Atlas were known as "The Soul Patrol". Retirement After retiring in 1991, Johnson along with Pat Patterson, trained his son Dwayne to wrestle. While he initially resisted his son's entry into the business because he knew it was extremely difficult, he agreed to train his son on the condition that he would not go easy on him. Johnson was instrumental in getting Dwayne (later dubbed "Rocky Maivia" after both Rocky Johnson's and Peter Maivia's ring names) signed to a WWF developmental deal. Initially, Johnson had an on-camera presence at his son's matches, jumping into the ring on his son's behalf after he was attacked by several other wrestlers at WrestleMania 13. Johnson was not seen on-camera again after the Rocky Maivia character flopped, but this was actually a blessing, as his son achieved crossover popularity as a cocky heel, The Rock. Johnson was hired as a trainer for the WWE developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, in early 2003 but was let go in May of that year. On February 25, 2008, Johnson was announced as an inductee for the 2008 class of the WWE Hall of Fame along with his father-in-law "High Chief" Peter Maivia. They were inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 29, 2008 by his son and former professional wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. One week earlier on March 22, Rocky Johnson wrestled his retirement match in Toronto for Stranglehold Wrestling. Personal life Johnson married into the prolific Samoan wrestling family, which included the Anoa'i family, by marrying "High Chief" Peter Maivia's daughter Ata Maivia. Ata met Rocky after Maivia and Johnson were tag team partners in a match on the independent scene. Maivia disapproved of the relationship—not because of anything personal against Johnson, but because of Johnson's chosen profession. The couple had a son, Dwayne, in 1972. Dwayne Johnson portrayed his father in an episode of That '70s Show. Johnson lived in Davie, Florida with his wife, Ata, but they later divorced. He also has two other children, as he announced in his 2008 HOF induction, a son Curtis, and a daughter Wanda from his first marriage in 1967. Johnson is honored being the first non-Samoan to be named High Chief. His title is High Chief Tafiaiafi. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **Dropkick **''Johnson Shuffle'' (Three left-handed jabs followed by a right-handed knockout punch) Championships and accomplishments *'American Wrestling Association' **AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jimmy Valiant (1) and Soul Train Jones (1) *'Championship Wrestling from Florida' **[[NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version)|NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version)]] (1 time) **NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Pedro Morales **NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time) *'Georgia Championship Wrestling' **NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jerry Brisco **NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Little Bear *'Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling' **NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (2 times) *'NWA All-Star Wrestling' **[[NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)|NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)]] (1 time) – with Don Leo Jonathan *'NWA Big Time Wrestling' **[[NWA Texas Hardcore Championship|NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version)]] (1 time) **NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jose Lothario *'NWA Detroit' **[[NWA Detroit World Tag Team Championship|NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version)]] (1 time) – with Ben Justice *'NWA Hollywood Wrestling' **NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Earl Maynard **NWA Beat the Champ Television Championship (2 times) *'NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association' **CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bill Dundee **[[Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship|NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version)]] (1 time) *'NWA San Francisco' **[[NWA San Francisco United States Championship|NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version)]] (1 time) **[[NWA San Francisco Tag Team Championship|NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version)]] (4 times) – with Pat Patterson (3) and Pepper Gomez (1) *'Pacific Northwest Wrestling' **NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brett Sawyer (1) and Iceman Parsons (1) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI ranked him #'211' of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 *'World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment' **WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tony Atlas **WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008) See also *Rocky Johnson's event history External links * WWE.com Profile * Rocky Johnson profile at CAGEMATCH.net Category:1944 births Category:American wrestlers Category:WWE Hall of Fame inductees Category:American Wrestling Association alumni Category:Championship Wrestling From Florida alumni Category:Continental Wrestling Association alumni Category:Eastern Sports Association alumni Category:Future Of Wrestling alumni Category:Georgia Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Jim Crockett Promotions alumni Category:Maple Leaf Wrestling alumni Category:Memphis Wrestling alumni Category:National Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:NWA All-Star Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Big Time Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Detroit alumni Category:NWA Hollywood Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Polynesian Wrestling alumni Category:NWA San Francisco alumni Category:Ohio Valley Wrestling alumni Category:Pacific Northwest Wrestling alumni Category:St. Louis Wrestling Club alumni Category:World Wrestling Council alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:1964 debuts Category:1991 retirements Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:WWE World Tag Team Champions Category:African American wrestlers Category:Canadian wrestlers Category:Nova Scotia wrestlers Category:Male wrestlers Category:Houston Wrestling alumni Category:2020 deaths Category:Wrestlers who have died